Jonathan Lethem and Allison Freeman on Lists

"We make lists of things we want to remember, and then we lose the lists. My life is a tattered assemblage of abandoned calendars, misplaced agendas, water-damaged address books with names blurred, family trees I've never managed to hold coherently in mind, third cousins unrecalled named for third uncles unmet, files of papers I've misplaced or never look into, schoolwork praised by teachers with faces I can't bring to mind. I once found a packet of love letters from a woman I couldn't recall. A list of mummified sentiments as useless as a grocery receipt. Our memories may be tomb-worlds, after all, a place to spare others having to dwell. Whereas the one thing I am sure I can remember about your eyes is that each time I see them they'll be eyes I could never have forgotten. We list things in order to cross them off, to relegate them with relief to the kingdom of amnesia. So leave me off your lists."

Jonathan Lethem
"Things to Remember"
The Ecstasy of Influence

Allison Freeman (via)